Frisco Campground — Cape Hatteras National Seashore

My first camping experience and it was absolutely amazing! the beach was super close, extremely secluded- it genuinely felt like we were the only people there. Not to long of a drive to get to more “developed” parts of OBX AND the bathrooms were clean. The only down side that trip was the TERRIBLE wind on night one but aye that’s camping for you. 10/10 will go back again and can’t WAIT to do so.

Frisco: The best camp sites in all of Hatteras NSS are in this campground. It is just north of Ocracoke- Hatteras Ferry. There are some sites with views and some sites with privacy - Every site here is better than the open park like setting at the other Hatteras NSS campgrounds. . Dense oak and juniper shrubs break up the campground and give a degree of separation to sites….. Frisco closes for the season on Nov 27. Sad. Oregon Inlet and Ocracoke remain open. (Scale 1- bad, 5-Very good (70 yr olds in 17’ trailer). Desire for at least moderately secluded campsites to be offered is important to me. Overall Rating: 4.5. More privacy offered here than Oregon Inlet where we also stayed. Least of campsites are better, in my opinion, than Oregon Inlet. No electricity here, though!
Beach Access: boardwalk P1 and P 29: Price 2023: $14 w interagency pass Usage during visit: Light Site Privacy: Some great sites Site Spacing: Good Site surface: Blacktop. Our site was pretty level. Reservations: Required. Campground Noise: Quiet as can be.
Road Noise: Far from a road Through Traffic in campground: No reason. The perimeter road on the right side is going to see more traffic. That’s because campers will be driving to their sites on the one way interior roads - when it’s busy. However, there are great sites on the perimeter . Electric Hookup: No Sewer Hookup: Yes Dump Station: No. We will use the dump station at Oregon Inlet when we drive out of the Outer Banks. Potable Water Available: Yes. At restrooms. Generators: Allowed.
Bathroom: Clean. Flush Toilets. Showers: Cold water and breezy. Pull Throughs: A couple. Cell Service (AT&T): 1 to 2 bars. Setting: Dense low shrubs between sites. Weather: Sunny and cloudy days. Highs are low to upper 60s. Always some wind. Lows are in the 50s Bugs: Not this time of year Solar: Great when sunny. Host: I don’t believe there was one furing our stay - late in the season. Rig size: Large rigs okay in selected sites. Sites: P6 is cozy little sight, no view, but the picnic table is in a cozy little very shaded area. Ideal for warmer weather - tables in SHADED/PRIVATE picnic area: P8, P10, P40, to a lesser degree-D4, D5 , F1 PRIVACY: A2, A3,A4(picnic table and grill down a short hill from site.) A6 D2, P46, P48,P49,P50, P55,P56 through P62 even, P9(picnic table, a few yards from trailer site.) P17, P65, P67, P69, P71, P22, P24, B1, B5, B7, B4, B6, P26, P28, P26, P30, VIEW of distant ocean: P66, P57, P51( our delightful sight - splendid view), P61(a peak of a view- less privacy), P73(pull over site, no privacy- great view of ocean.), P67(very splendid view of dunes, not ocean)

Pretty quite campground wasn’t that busy. We reserved online that seen like the common thing with state parks now of days. Nice little walk to the beach happy they had walk ways. There’s also roads you can drive right on the beach.

Spent 3 days here, took my telescope to spend the nights stargazing. Nice clean campground bathroom and toilet facilities were clean and plenty of hot water. My site 67 was on a hill with great views all around. Road next to the campsite is beach access , where you can drive if you have a 4x4.

I called the reserve number on this listing and she said that the only way to get that 28/a night price was through booking it on the website and they are not affiliated with that 28/a night camp ground. Very confusing this listing needs updating.

Campground is nice overall, there are multiple bathhouses and trash bins near the entrance. There are lots of bugs and ticks, tent space vary greatly from space to space. We started In p27 but did not have any shade and very little space so we changed sites half way through when a more desirable (F1) opened up. If you have a 4x4 vehicle, you may consider a off road driving permit for hatteras national seashore as there is an entrance at the from of the campground. From the campground to the beach it is about 1/4 mile of combined sand dune walking and a wooden bridge/walkway.

Camp site was clean , board walk to beach was nice, dogs can be on the beach, restrooms and showers were clean but no hot water.

The sites were decent size, bathrooms were clean, showers were nice, bug no warm water. Easy walk to the beach. Highly recommend

Loved staying here. It was our first time in the outer banks so it was definitely a lesson. We got eaten alive even through bug spray probably because you can’t have a fire but that makes sense. There are a ton of cacti around so wear shoes! We also got caught in a few thunder storms and it dumped buckets on us so double check the weather! Either way it was still super enjoyable. The bathrooms were clean and the showers were indoor/outdoor so that was kinda fun.

So so so many trump flags. So many. And babies riding in golf carts while being held by beer-drinking mother's.

Bathrooms: 5/5 clean & air-conditioning in all of them.

Sites: 3/5 just average/fine

Pools: 4/5

Beach: 5/5

Waterfrontness: 5/5 weird water but pretty to look at

Closeness to other sites: 1/5 you are up each other's buttcracks

Dog rating: 4/5 no problem but also SO dog friendly we had to be very mindful of others not having their dogs on leash.

Drove down for 2 nights to camp in a tent with our toddler. She had a great time camping out, going to the beach and riding her scooter on the paved roads. Beach was a short walk from the campground and park was clean and quiet. There were a lot of sand spurs and ticks at the site, but other than that it was lovely.

Pros: really close to the beach and ability to drive on beach with permit. Pretty campground & clean bathrooms. Cons: small spaces with little room to spread out. Picnic and grill were on the opposite side of our travel trailer door so not ideal setup at all. Major drop off on side and back of our space. 3 stars bc there are small cacti and sand spurs everywhere. We could not walk our 3 dogs at all!!! When they did go potty we spent several minutes picking out sands spurs and cacti from their paws and fur.

We started out in P63 - it has the best views but it is really small, no where to spread out and totally exposed to the wind. I don’t recommend it. After driving around for an hour seeing what was available we moved to A15. Much better! Secluded from the wind and a nice place to set up. We biked to Fattys and got delicious ice cream but biking on 12 was not really very fun. We saw lots of snakes crossing the road at the campground but none in our site. They were good harmless snakes.

Apríl 19 to May 3,2021 Camper Van Each one of us is different, but for me after 10 months of camping this was hands down my best experience. Most, but not all, camp sites are attractive and afford privacy. Some have oceán views so choose carefully Walk to beach is an easy 1/2 mile mostly on the boardwalk. The beach is wide and long. Many shells along the high tide line. Many people surf casting for Red Drum. It’s a lovely, friendly scene. The beach is why you come and it doesn’t disappoint. Enjoy! Showers are clean and cold but not freezing. All sites are primitive with picnic table and grill. Water available at bath house. Dump station about 10 miles away. Ferry to Ocracoke Island is free and it runs every hour.

The basics: the campground is clean, the bathrooms are clean, the sites have some privacy, and some sites have shade but most don’t. The beach is close but not right next to the campground. The campsites might require some leveling blocks, ours did. The campground is a bit hilly.

What does this campground have? Cooking grills at each site, picnic tables at each site, garbage dumpsters, free permits for beach campfires. The campground only has cold water outdoor showers with lockable doors. If you need a water fill and dump station you’ll actually need to drive over to Cape Point Campground and use it there. It’s the sister campground to the Frisco Campground. As far as I could tell this campground doesn’t have water, power or sewer hookups. At the time this review is posted there’s warning signs everywhere telling you the water in the campground isn’t potable due to high chlorine levels. So plan your water carefully.

Much like in Ocracoke, prepare for your trip. If it’s cold, you probably don’t want to use the ice cold water outdoor showers. In the summer the water might feel nice. But then it’ll be hot and you’ll need to prepare for some shade. This campground had some mosquitos and it was only about 75 at the warmest. Be careful of the sandspurs EVERYWHERE. Even at the path to the beach because people brought them over on their footwear.

I give this campground 5 stars because it fulfills every need. But to be honest we really didn’t spend much time at the campground. In this location, we stayed away most of the time doing stuff elsewhere.

Internet. At campsite P038, we had bad cell signal. As we discovered, your location in the campground dictates your cell reception because the campground is hilly. The higher in altitude your site is, the clearer line-of-site signal you’ll have. The speeds were pretty fantastic with good line-of-sight. But at campsite P038 with Verizon on an iPhone 12 we had 1.6 Mbps down, 0.4 Mbps up and 61 ping. With a cell booster I had a much better connection but I wouldn’t have been able to video chat.

I love this campground! The sites on the hill have a breeze and view of the ocean. The ORV just outside the campground makes beach access easy. The showers are basic and much appreciated after a long day.

The campground is in an awesome location. Walking distance from the beach or accessible by vehicle. If you have a four wheel drive, you can drive right into the beach. There is also a boardwalk that spans a lowland area and takes you to the dunes from the campground.

We had two sites. P57 and P62. 57 was barely usable. We were able to put stuff on the picnic table, but there wasn’t even room for the tent. 62 made up for it though. A little trail led from the parking spot into a massive area that had room for a large tent, picnic table, 5 chairs, and four hammocks. All of this was in a shaded area.

The shower/ bathroom facilities were great and the sites seemed secluded because of the trees that separated them.

We stayed in the Avon, Buxton, and Frisco area the entire time for surfing, paddle boarding, and just time at the beach.

The mosquitos were bad. Bring spray and candles for your campsite. Once we had citronella candles we were pretty good.

Shout out to Fox Watersports in Buxton for boards and lessons!!

The campground layout is nice, we had to move a picnic table to have a spot for our tent that wasn’t half in the grass. The area was teeming with mosquitoes in early June, and they bite through multiple layers of clothes.

Make sure you don’t face your tent entrance directly in the wind so you don’t blow the mosquitoes in.

If you want to go to the beach at night definitely bring a headlamp or flashlight because you’ll be taking a long wooden pathway across the swamp that’s next to the campgrounds. There was almost no one there after dark and it’s quite lovely on the beach.

The shower water is cold but there’s plenty of room. Portapotties and flush toilets are available.

Big campground with decent space between sites. Watch out for cacti and other prickly things in the grass.

Parked on the P loop to be closer to the beach boardwalk. He sites at the top are up the hill and have a nice view of the water.

Two of the bathrooms were open (post-Covid). They were ok. A used tampon on the floor of the shower turned us off!

They don’t have first come, first served anymore. Every site has to be reserved in advance.

The beach was pretty with lots of shells, but tons of 4x4 trucks and jeeps driving around was less than appealing to those who just want to walk on quiet beach.

One bar of Verizon service.

This campground feels built right into the dunes. It is a perfect place for a true Outer Banks experience. We enjoyed deer stopping by our camp site, and the wild, remote feeling here. It is dependent on the site you choose. Some are much more secluded than others. 

Pet friendly, Fire ring and picnic table at each site. We return here often. There's amazing, world-famous fishing in the area, so in Spring and Fall this place can be packed and hard to get a reservation. It's a little too hot in July and august so we tend to avoid it during those months. 

HIGHLIGHT: you can have a fire on the beach in this area and also drive on the beach. It's very peaceful and during certain times can be very remote. 

WARNING: Bring a pad for your tent. We stayed on two different sites here and the first one had cactus and sand spurs so long they punctured our air mattress, through the bottom of the tent and two blankets. They were so bad on this site, we moved to another site that was much better. While looking at sites, we did notice this issue on multiple sites.

First time staying here in early November and what a nice campground. Reserved a site but when I pulled up to my spot it was all muddy and rutted up. Back up to the office I went and she said to pick any of the sites but the ones already reserved. Clean bathrooms. Hot showers. Cool tent sites in the trees. One thing I will say is I didn’t expect the mosquitos to be this bad in November. They are a different breed than what we have back home. Other than that just a normal good campground with added features to make your stay great. Would stay again but next time to try the cabins.

We had a wonderful first camping trip of 2019 at Frisco NPS campground. The perks to camping here in April would be: less bugs and less people! And it's not too hot. The beach is so beautiful. Our campsite 59 had an amazing view of the beach and campground, though it was too far away to walk to the beach. 

There are little cactuses everywhere so be careful!

This is the campground if you want to go beach camping. The natural mounds of sand and sea grass make for decent privacy. Depending on the spot you pick, the shore is a few steps away. You can drive to a small lot near the beach entrance if your lot is far away. The night sky is breathtaking. The beach is usually pretty quiet, more fishermen than anything else. If you want to disconnect and leave with salt still in your hair and lips, this is a great place for it.

Stayed on a peak heat weekend and there is little to no shade on the site. About a mile away from beach access. No fire pits, only grills available. Recommend mosquito barriers in the summer months.

I’ve been here a few times and the sound side sites are amazing. They also have sites up in the trees that are more private which I really enjoyed. Very cool spot!

A nice developed campground with sites dispersed amongst the dunes along the Atlantic Ocean on Cape Hatteras. The mosquitos come out in force after sunsets but, the sunsets alone are worth is. Pleasant breezes, beautiful scenery and tranquility. Adequate facilities and a step price ($28) for a tent only site.

Roll out of you tent onto the beach. Great site with showers. Can get windy at night.

We stayed here Labor Day weekend. We got to the campgrounds just before sunset & still found a spot. The sunrise & sunset at this campground is absolutely beautiful. There are restrooms & showers on site. Each campsite has a picnic table. Would stay here again!

Very simple and cheap campground. Bugs were bad but a fire and some bug spray will fix that. Clean bathrooms and big (cold-water only) showers. Nice sized camp sites. Plenty of open site options in May. Pretty sunsets. Walking distance beach access from campground and close drive to several other beach locations. Quiet and peaceful trip.

my favorite place to camp. But open to the elements- no hot showers